K-V

The price cut and FDA stance are likely to reduce the commercial potential for Makena, a drug that K-V has banked on to return to profitability following various legal and regulatory troubles in recent years.

K-V Pharma Slashes Price of Drug Amid Outcry Peter Loftus 2011

The response came after K-V became the latest U.S. health-care company to face scrutiny over medical prices perceived to be too high.

K-V Pharma Slashes Price of Drug Amid Outcry Peter Loftus 2011

Also, K-V will cap the costs for a full course of therapy to a maximum of 15 injections for contracted health insurance plans and state Medicaid agencies, and remove caps to qualify for financial assistance from the company.

K-V Pharma Slashes Price of Drug Amid Outcry Peter Loftus 2011

K-V Pharmaceutical Co. said Friday that it would slash the list price of its new premature-birth prevention drug Makena by 55% after a public outcry over the treatment's original price tag of $1,500 per shot.

K-V Pharma Slashes Price of Drug Amid Outcry Peter Loftus 2011

"This will help ensure that every woman who is prescribed Makena—regardless of her ability to pay—has the comfort of knowing a medication that has been rigorously reviewed by FDA for safety and efficacy is available to her," K-V said in a press release.

K-V Pharma Slashes Price of Drug Amid Outcry Peter Loftus 2011

K-V said 85% of patients will pay $20 or less per injection for Makena, and patients whose financial need is greatest would receive Makena at no out-of-pocket cost.

K-V Pharma Slashes Price of Drug Amid Outcry Peter Loftus 2011

The March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization that works to reduce premature births, acknowledged that the price cut was a step in the right direction, but the organization also announced plans to terminate a partnership in which K-V had provided financial support for fund-raising efforts.

K-V Pharma Slashes Price of Drug Amid Outcry Peter Loftus 2011

Some newly approved drugs carry high prices tags: $120,000 for a standard course of Bristol-Myers' skin-cancer treatment Yervoy, and $1,500 per injection for K-V Pharmaceutical Co.'s Makena, a drug used to help prevent premature births.

Religious Groups Tackle Drug Hikes Peter Loftus 2011

Henry A. Waxman D-Calif., one of the lawmakers who had criticized K-V for the initial price tag, said the price cut "is a step in the right direction."

K-V Pharma Slashes Price of Drug Amid Outcry Peter Loftus 2011

K-V's Ther-Rx unit, which makes Makena, said Friday that in addition to the list price cut, it would offer supplemental rebates that would further lower the price for Medicaid programs, the government's health program for the poor.

K-V Pharma Slashes Price of Drug Amid Outcry Peter Loftus 2011